Its been a really dry summer in Toronto…for the most part. Then the other night it started raining. I checked the weather forecast to see what was in store, and I saw the unexpected. In a 24-hour period, we were expected to receive 30-40 mm of rain. That’s a lot of water! We didn’t actually get that much, and now its nice and hot and dry out again.
As a kid growing up, I don’t remember the weather being this inconsistent. This year’s weather has been all about inconsistency. Our winter went from cold to hot to cold to hot. We were wearing T-shirts in February, then snowsuits two weeks later. This summer, in particularly, has been really hot…definitely the hottest Canadian summer I have ever experienced. I’m not a climatologist, and I’m not going to say that this is all the result of global warming, but you can’t ignore what’s happening. The weather is not what it used to be – its much more erratic and unpredictable. And its taking its toll on everyone. Though the deniers still exist, you have to wonder how much longer they will be able to do it in the face of the observational evidence we’re being given by the planet.
Last week’s post, Community Bonds – A Primer, was included in a number of blog carnivals including:
- Nerdy Finance Carnival, hosted by Nerd Wallet
- Yakezie Carnival, hosted by Passive Income to Retire
- Carnival of Money Pros, hosted by 101 Centavos
- Financial Carnival, hosted by Wealth Artisan
- Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Sweating the Big Stuff
- Financial Carnival for Young Adults, hosted by 20′s Finances
- Carnival of Retirement, hosted by Master the Art of Saving
- Carnival of Financial Planning, hosted by The Skilled Investor
- Krystal at Give Me Back My Five Bucks talked about strategies for asking for pay raises. Sometimes the best strategy is to focus on doing quality work and letting it speak for you.
- Marissa at Thirty Six Months went on a mini-rant about what she terms “the entitlement generation“. Sadly enough, this is my own generation, and I see examples of it all the time. The best anyone my age can do is try not to be a part of it.
- Jennifer at Canadian Finance Blog threw around some ideas for ways to conserve water and, in turn, save money. Sometimes the easiest fix that we neglect to do is repair leaky faucets, which can lead to enormous water losses.
- Gail Vaz-Oxlade talked about society’s cravings to have more stuff and how we’re sacrificing financial stability as a result. Its not necessarily just stuff in my opinion, but a general attitude about spending without saving first.
- CF at The Outlier Model shares his reasons for not donating to charities. Unfortunately, in some cases, his reasons are very valid.
- Jeremy at Modest Money asks if everyone needs an emergency fund. I think that emergency funds are like insurance. You hope you never have to use it, you grumble about having it in the first place, but you’re unbelievably thankful its there when you need it.
- Teacherman at Sustainable Personal Finance asks if parents should have to help students financial as they navigate University. A tricky, situation-specific question for sure, but he did bring up an interesting point about the impact of parents wealth/income on a students ability to get a loan.
Happy Weekend Everyone!